With this trial, Matteo Salvini could win every time. Convicted at first instance, the vice-president of the Italian council and leader of the League (far right) would have had the opportunity to cultivate his posture as a victim of judges “communists”. Relaxed by the Palermo court on Friday December 20, he now sees himself confirmed in the tough position adopted in the summer of 2019 when, as Minister of the Interior, he refused to allow access to Italian ports to a rescue ship housing 147 migrants left from North Africa and rescued in the central Mediterranean.
In this case, the prosecution, in September, requested six years in prison against Mr. Salvini for kidnapping and abuse of power. This heavyweight of the government led by the president of the council, Giorgia Meloni, with his Fratelli d'Italia party, a conservative national formation resulting from the fascist matrix, had presented himself as a victim of the judicial power, receiving the support of the entire European sovereignist and populist family. Mr. Salvini also benefited from the support of American billionaire Elon Musk, advisor to President-elect Donald Trump.
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Source: Lemonde